hokiehigh2000

14 innings, 1 run, 9 hits, 25 strikeouts, 1 walk. Pretty good. Making us here at Belmont very proud!

...during the season (before she entered the portal officially), I was told by folks in the Belmont program who would know. VT was not the only school who did this, but she ruled out all programs who made contact that early. It came down to Michigan and returning to Belmont, and familiarity with Belmont's coaching staff and team, and the opportunity to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice with mostly virtual coursework balanced with great access to clinical placements in Nashville, sealed the deal to come back.

From Brady Vernon. No VT on the list. Others of note: #4 Oregon -- Lyndsey Grein is back #5 Florida State #7 Tennessee -- I watched their two incoming transfers from Boise State play twice this spring; they're excellent #10 Clemson -- added BC's #1 pitcher from two years ago and a promising transfer catcher from Oklahoma #12 Alabama #14 South Carolina -- brought in a boatload of transfers from the SEC and an NC State outfielder #15 Georgia #16 Stanford #20 Duke #22 Ohio State -- former Hokie Kirin Kumar in charge, power bats #23 UVA ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 6/30/2025, 3:10:18 PM

Turned down Michigan and a host of other P4 schools. Huge consideration in her decision was academics; she will pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice to be a pediatric critical care nurse practitioner. Nashville is a huge healthcare hub and she can do her clinical work right here -- Belmont is located 5-10 minutes from numerous hospitals in town. ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 6/30/2025, 2:45:30 PM

As I mentioned on May 24, I had heard some talk about Ohio State and Michigan, and then other P4 schools entered the mix, including a few high-achieving academic institutions (Duke, Stanford, Penn State, Texas A&M, etc.). That was always going to be a key factor in her decision -- she graduated from Belmont with a 3.95 GPA in Nursing and may be exploring the med school route down the road. She took some visits last week, has turned most offers down (and ruled out all schools that "tampered" with her during the season and offered significant money), and I've been told it's now down to Michigan or a return to Belmont. She has a very strong connection with the coaching staff and team at Belmont, but Michigan certainly offers an exciting challenge and step up academically and athletically. ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 6/24/2025, 8:14:42 AM

Great to hear -- looking forward to having her!

SEC: 37 Big 12: 20 ACC: 17 Quick math, so I could be slightly off, but wow -- it must "mean more". Sigh.

Helps to work at Belmont.

Quick outing — was not a good one, unfortunately. Gave up a bomb, another one over the fence but foul, didn’t have her command…bounce back her next time out, hopefully! ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 6/14/2025, 12:39:20 PM

Blaze vs. Talons! Great to see so much support for AUSL — there’s hardly an empty seat, and it’s a nice facility here in Chattanooga!

Hope Emma is pitching for the Blaze that day -- they're playing the Talons and I'd love to see her match up against Bri Ellis, Ally Shipman, and Sydney Romero!

Living in Nashville, I got to watch Hastings play a bunch in person this season -- she was at Lipscomb. Best shortstop in the ASUN on both sides of the ball, also transferred with two years of eligibility, but committed to Auburn several days ago. To be fair, she's from Alabama, so not a huge surprise there. Still, at the very least, appears to be an offensive upgrade in the middle infield for VT with Foster -- seems like a good get to me! ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/30/2025, 9:23:22 PM

Transfer from Stetson with two years left of eligibility. Middle infielder, 2nd Team All-ASUN this season. Significantly developed her power to go along with good speed. Great eye at the plate (33 BB/7 SO this year). Doesn't appear to be a particularly good defender -- 17 errors in freshman year, 16 this year, .907 fielding percentage. ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/30/2025, 8:59:55 PM

Duke (making a decent push I hear), Stanford, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Arizona, Penn State, UCF, Mizzou.

I've heard a bit of talk around Ohio State and Michigan, but nothing concrete.

No surprise there.

Trust me, VT would be lucky to have her, both in the circle and in the community.

Not trolling at all. Genuinely curious that Grein's numbers have improved this year (year older, yes, new conference, yes), but two pitchers on VT's staff (who also are a year older) have stayed stagnant over two years in the program. The other transferred in, and has probably improved since being at VT. Do folks feel, in general, that VT's staff has developed, is what I'm meaning to ask. ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/20/2025, 7:03:48 PM

"I knew I had a lot more that I wanted to accomplish...I could put in the work, I just needed the guidance." I don't have a subscription so I can't read the whole article, and could just be a bit of clickbait, but very interesting quote. Would love to see more of the rest from those who do have full access. From what I can tell: Two seasons at VT: 22-11, 3.69 ERA, 218.1 IP, 228 hits allowed, 230 strikeouts, 91 walks One season at Oregon: 28-2, 2.13 ERA, 164 IP, 107 hits allowed, 212 strikeouts, 63 walks By comparison... Emma Lemley, 2024: 13-5, 2.64 ERA, 127.1 IP, 87 hits allowed, 158 strikeouts, 53 walks Emma Lemley, 2025: 18-8, 2.65 ERA, 161.1 IP, 108 hits allowed, 196 strikeouts, 60 walks Emma Mazzarone, 2024: 9-3, 3.35 ERA, 71 IP, 54 hits allowed, 65 strikeouts, 35 walks Emma Mazzarone, 2025: 11-3, 3.32 ERA, 92.2 IP, 72 hits allowed, 95 strikeouts, 61 walks Sophie Kleiman, 2024 (Indiana): 14-5, 2.69 ERA, 130 IP, 127 hits allowed, 87 strikeouts, 53 walks Sophie Kleiman, 2025 (VT): 12-2, 2.45 ERA, 71.1 IP, 80 hits allowed, 66 strikeouts, 50 walks On balance, it certainly appears that Grein has developed than VT's current staff has over the past two seasons, at least statistically. Before anyone mentions it, I know win-loss record is an overrated stat/product of your team. Just sharing for context. I haven't watched nearly as many VT games over the past two seasons since I've been away from the university, but was at the Tuscaloosa regional and a couple of their games in the Bama Bash this February. I wonder how folks who watch the team on a day in, day out basis have felt about the staff's development? ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/20/2025, 5:55:53 PM

Liberty's "brand" allows it to access players with a certain belief system -- similar to BYU and Grand Canyon -- who are the cream of that crop. Top-tier facilities and a personality like Dot's helps attract players, as well. I'd also argue Liberty does a great job with player evaluation and development. I was at the entire Conference USA Tournament and some of their best players there, and all season, were transfers, as pointed out above: KK Madrey (LSU), Paige Doerr (Oregon State), Savannah Woodard (Alabama), and their ace, Elena Escobar (North Alabama). They also plucked Rachel Roupe out of high school in rural Maryland, their starting catcher from rural East Tennessee, a couple contributors from Delaware, etc. As a public school without a national name brand and great financial aid for out-of-state students, I do wonder if that hamstrings VT a bit when searching further afield. Not sure when the last time VT had someone from west of Iowa on their roster, and if you're not landing kids from Arizona, California, Texas, etc., does that limit the talent ceiling a bit? ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/20/2025, 1:04:04 PM

We’re a ways away from first pitch, folks.

Pete coached third base during the entirety of Maya Johnson’s time in the circle for Belmont, then reverted back to the dugout after she left. Same thing today, he’s in the dugout. He was as animated as I’ve ever seen him yesterday from the third base coaches box with hitters, giving them tips, locked in on Maya’s delivery, hands on his knees, clapping, even barking a little. I’ve been away from the team for a few years now while working at another school, but Pete never coaches third anymore, correct? If that’s the case, Briski doesn’t concern him much at all, but he really wanted a look at Maya. Or am I reading too much into things? ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/17/2025, 12:15:05 PM

Thunderstorms and rain were heavy yesterday night and into this morning. Woke me up a couple times. 35% chance of picking back up again at 10, but looks dry the rest of the day!

86 and cloudy as we’re 40 minutes from first pitch. VT already warming up in the outfield, and Maya Johnson hard at work in the bullpen for Belmont. Looking forward to it!

Wishing the best, though -- everyone deserves their right fit! ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 5/14/2025, 3:08:03 PM

3.95 GPA, just graduated with her BSN. Impressive, to say the least!

Saw this photo yesterday -- Bre Peck and Maya Johnson played travel ball together for the PA Strikers 18U team. Talk about power, both at the plate and in the circle. Will be a great matchup to watch on Friday. I work for Belmont now and am looking forward to getting to Tuscaloosa on Friday. Everything that's been posted on this board about Maya is true, and more -- she's a wonderful representative for the university on the field, in the classroom, and in the hospital (she's a Nursing major). When she's not pitching, she'll be the first one out of the dugout to cheer on her teammates when they come off the field after an inning. I can't emphasize enough how much of a pleasure it's been watching her this season. She's elite and a competitor, but seems to be incredibly humble and down to earth as well. I fear it's a bad matchup for Belmont -- no power (Cori has more home runs than this season than Belmont's entire team combined) and not much speed other than Baie Ensio at the top of the lineup, so they're going to have to manufacture runs and I don't see them scoring more than 3-4. Maya has not faced a lineup like VT's all season and if she's off her game in the slightest, Belmont won't be able to keep up with VT offensively. I'm sure there will be a full preview later this week, but always happy to share my Belmont-related thoughts. Wishing both teams the best ;)

She's a Nursing student, which isn't even an option at VT, so...

I was at Southern Illinois yesterday for two games of the Saluki Invitational and got to watch Molly Jacobson start for Wisconsin against the hosts in their second game of the day. Molly looked ok -- 2 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk -- it was a pretty quick hook even though she labored in the second inning, and the other Badger pitchers behind her certainly did not impress in an eventual 7-3 loss with 5 errors committed. Southern Illinois is a very strong mid-major squad, winning the Missouri Valley Conference 3 of the last 4 years and picked to win it again this season. Molly's had more opportunities this year, starting 7 games and pitching in 15. She's 4-1 with 2 saves and a 2.77 ERA in 48 IP, giving up 49 hits and walking 14 while only striking out 24. She's Wisconsin's #2 behind a clear #1 in Gabi Salo. Her stuff appeared to be about the same -- not overpowering and pitching to contact, etc. -- but she has an excellent pitching coach in Mike Roberts, who Hokies fans may remember most recently from being the pitching coach at UVA and working with Eden Bigham. Wisconsin is currently 16-8, though I don't believe they're expected to be near the top of the Big Ten this year. Wishing Molly the best of luck for the remainder of her last season! ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 3/10/2025, 5:01:54 PM

I was at the University of Evansville's tournament yesterday and heard a familiar name when the starting lineups and coaching staff were being announced. Doug is now the Associate Head Coach for the Purple Aces and started there in July 2024. It's possible he may have crossed paths with Evansville's head coach, Mat Mundell, in 2022 when VT beat them twice at the Bama Bash. The Hokies won those gams 5-1 and 5-0 so certainly the pitching stood out, though it was helpful to have Keely Rochard throwing 8 scoreless innings and giving up just 2 hits while striking out 16 over the two games. A stud freshman named Emma Lemley won a game as well, going 4 shutout innings and giving up only 1 hit while striking out 9. Evansville is 7-6 so far this year, with their pitchers combining for a 3.75 ERA and a .268 batting average against. Last year's pitching staff combined for a 5.54 ERA/1.98 WHIP and a .324 B/AVG, so it appears improvement has already been made.

Guess I'm still on Georgia Tech's mailing list from the series I attended in Atlanta a couple seasons ago against VT, and got this email earlier today. If a middle-of-the-pack ACC program can charge $100 for season tickets, surely VT should be doing the same. It's a no-brainer to me, and I think the vast majority of everyone here.

$38.5 million facility with 20,000 square feet of student-athlete development space, including a four-lane batting cage with a full practice turf infield, weight room, locker room, team lounge and nutrition space, video room, an athletic training room, as well as a mud room and equipment room. Pretty, pretty nice (video tour of the space): More information about the Georgia Softball Fund (season tickets; a novel concept!!) here: https://georgiadogs.com/news/2024/10/15/2025-georgia-soft...

Oct. 6: at Liberty Oct. 11: at UMBC Oct. 12: vs. Maryland (Williamsport, PA) Oct. 25: vs. Liberty Oct. 27: vs. Lynchburg and vs. Radford (both in Lynchburg) Nov. 3: vs Richard Bland CC

October 4 - vs. Chipola October 6 - vs. West Florida October 12 - vs. St. Johns River State College October 13 - at Troy October 19 - vs. Gulf Coast State College October 27 - at Florida November 3 - vs. South Alabama November 8 - vs. Team Canada November 9 - vs. Auburn Nice mix of games to build young players' confidence, and challenging games against high-level opponents.

I was at a Rocket City Trash Pandas game earlier this summer and they advertised the tournament on the scoreboard before first pitch. "The weekend will feature four straight days of softball action featuring nine teams, including three from the SEC as Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State will be joined by Alabama mid-major powers Jacksonville State and University of North Alabama, as well as former Women’s College World Series participant James Madison University, Conference USA power Louisiana Tech, rising Southern Conference program at East Tennessee State University, and regular NCAA Tournament contender Miami (OH)."

According to SoftballPortal on X, $1.95 million. Right between Penn State at $1.98 and Cal Baptist at $1.92. I counted wrong originally and had 37th, but Chip's full list shows #48! Others of note... ACC: Florida State ($5.37; 2nd-most in the country), Stanford ($2.89), Notre Dame ($2.88), Clemson ($2.83), Duke ($2.34), Boston College ($2.16), Syracuse ($2.11), UVA ($1.77). National: Oklahoma ($6.58; #1), Tennessee ($4.10; #3), Alabama ($3.79; #6), Auburn ($3.50; #7), Missouri ($2.85), Georgia ($2.75). This is fascinating to me, if accurate. VT is doing a lot with relatively a little, which is great and a testament to the strong work ethic and development in the program, but not promising (in my opinion) in terms of talent retention (coaches and players). ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 8/14/2024, 10:41:22 PM

#9 in a 10-team field in 2024 Didn't make 2023, 2022, or 2021 They're also losing a couple key players from last year's roster, although they do bring back Abby Dunning and have a chance whenever she's in the circle, as well as Hannah Slike. Pitt just hosted in 2022 and didn't make their "own" tournament, either. To me, that's an embarrassing look for a conference. I will say, BC has a lovely little facility and it's a beautiful neighborhood. Hosting a conference tournament, though... ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 8/13/2024, 7:19:59 PM

At a game now and will defer to Chip to provide more info, but 30 minutes ago Abbie Sars announced her intent to join the Hokies in Fall 2025. Listed as a C/OF (interesting combination) from Prince George, VA — just south of Richmond. Congrats!

Continuing the ***an tradition in Southwest and Central Virginia! Loved the quote from Coach D'Amour in Radford's press release: "Congratulations to Coach ***an and Radford softball. He has a track record for building championship level teams, developing players on and off the field, and leading programs the right way. I'm excited for the ***an family and the young women at Radford who will have the opportunity to learn under Coach ***an's guidance." ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 7/29/2024, 10:21:13 AM

3 of those losses to teams that didn't make the NCAA Tournament. This was clearly a Top 25 (or better) team in my opinion, but with that disappointing finish to the season in mind it's hard to have complaints about being left out.

Meghan O'Neil, started at UConn in 2020 so she would've overlapped with Emma by a couple years at JF.

Chris as the hitting coach, Kate as a full-time assistant working mostly with catchers and baserunning. Do co-head coaches work??

Or of Maci's high school accomplishments. I just used her as an example but any incoming recruit would likely also have had something similar written about them, whether they pan out or not. More to ascertain what various numbers/awards mean in softball, since recruiting isn't covered in the national spotlight the same way as football and men's basketball.